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Tag: helping the environment

After all, when we cook food at home, we’re processing it. When we make our own sauces, gravies, and dips we’re processing food.

What we mean at TGFC, of course, is food that is highly processed, usually on an industrial scale. This kind of processed food often contains extra sodium to make it taste better; added colors to make it look better, and chemical preservatives to make it last longer.

While we don’t want everything to go bad in five minutes, if we prepare food as we need it, that’s not going to happen in any case. Of course, we can also prepare dishes in advance and refrigerate or freeze them. That way, we don’t need to add extra preservatives anyway!

Some good examples of home produced processed food:

Ketchup

Sausage

Salad Dressings

Pickles

Jams

Bread

Much can be made from locally sourced fresh produce too, often organic. Food that’s in season is often less expensive, and tastes better. You’re also helping the environment by not buying something that has been transported half way around the world, and you’re helping your own local economy at the same time!

Yes, at TGFC we’re more than happy to drink water from the tap. It’s much cheaper, and in most Western nations, it’s perfectly fine and safe to drink. It’s got up to 1,000 times less bacteria in than bottled water, and is around 1,000 times less expensive too.

However,we digress.

Today, we’re talking about beer. If you like a glass or two of beer, then do yourself, and the environment, a favor, and ask for the tap.

Next time you’re in the supermarket, look in the beer aisle. Look at all that packaging! The beer is in those bottles and cans, which are in a cardboard box, or a tray wrapped in plastic.

Think about buying a keg instead, if they’re available. Of course not all beers are sold this way, particularly specialty beers and imports.

However, if you like good beer, see if you have somewhere like The Charleston Beer Exchange near you. They not only sell all those specialty bottles beers, often without much of the plastic wrap, and cardboard packaging, but they also sell beer on tap. Simply buy a glass jug, get it refilled with draft beer, and take it back for a refill when you’re done.

You’re helping the environment, and you’re arguably helping yourself, in two ways. You’re drinking craft beer, which is much more likely to have less dubious colorants and additives in it, than mass-produced megabrew stuff, and you’re getting to try different beers, and a quality product. Quite often too, as is the case at The Charleston beer Exchange, you’re helping the local economy again if you drink the beers from the local brewery, such as The Charleston Beer Exchange offers from the Coast Brewing Company.

They believe in utilizing alternative means to brew unique beer. They also believe in choice organic and local ingredients. From their biodiesel fired kettle to their energy efficient process, they forge hand crafted batches in their 7 bbl brewhouse.

Think about it next time you’re going to buy some beer! You’ll probably get to enjoy a brew that you didn’t even know that you liked!